Newest Portland music club opening Friday

Portland’s newest music venue, Portland House of Music and Events, is scheduled to open Friday.

The club’s first show will be headlined by the Portland-based rock band Doubting Gravity, said Ken Bell, the club’s owner. Amy and The Engine, fronted by Maine native Amy Allen, is due to perform Saturday. Maine-based country rockers The Mallett Brothers Band will play the club Sunday, Bell said.

Doubting Gravity will perform at the grand opening of Portland House of Music and Events on Market Street on Friday. Courtesy doubtinggravity.com

The new club will be a return to Portland’s music scene for Bell, who ran the popular Big Easy on Market Street for nearly a decade before his lease expired and was not renewed in 2013.

Portland House of Music and Events is located at 25 Temple St. in the Old Port, in a former florist shop. The new club will hold about 290 people for most shows, while the Big Easy’s capacity was 140, Bell said. There will be about 60 seats most nights, with the rest of the crowd standing, though more portable seats can be added as required.

Bell was busy finalizing renovations Monday and said that as long as everything goes according to schedule, he’ll be open Friday. Besides building a stage and renovating the interior, Bell had the space soundproofed and made improvements to the sprinkler system.

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